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The House voted to pass its yearly defense bill Wednesday, adding about another $1 trillion to the $36 trillion national debt.

The 1,800-page bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), details how $895.2 billion allocated toward defense and national security will be spent.

On Wednesday, the bill passed 281-140, with 16 Republicans voting no. Only 81 Democrats voted yes, while 124 voted no.

The legislation now heads to the Senate for passage before heading to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

124 DEMS OPPOSE HISTORICALLY BIPARTISAN DEFENSE BILL OVER RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSGENDER TREATMENTS FOR MINORS

The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington March 2, 2022.  (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

The bill’s passage comes as the U.S. national debt continues to climb at a rapid pace and shows no signs of slowing down.

As of Dec. 11, the national debt, which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors, fell to $36,163,442,396,226.61, according to the latest numbers released by the U.S. Treasury Department. The debt represents a decrease of $8.8 billion from the figure released the previous day.

By comparison, 40 years ago, the national debt hovered at about $907 billion.

PENTAGON ANNOUNCES NEW COUNTER-DRONE STRATEGY AS UNMANNED ATTACKS ON US INTERESTS SKYROCKET

The United States Capitol building in Washington D.C., Dec. 2, 2024.  (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The latest findings from the Congressional Budget Office indicate the national debt will grow to an astonishing $54 trillion in the next decade, the result of an aging population and rising federal health care costs. Higher interest rates are also compounding the pain of higher debt.

Should that debt materialize, it could risk America’s economic standing in the world.

The spike in the national debt follows a burst of spending by President Biden and Democratic lawmakers.

As of September 2022, Biden had already approved roughly $4.8 trillion in borrowing, including $1.85 trillion for a COVID relief measure dubbed the American Rescue Plan and $370 billion for the bipartisan infrastructure bill, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), a group that advocates for reducing the deficit.

HERE IS WHO IS VYING FOR POWER IN SYRIA AFTER THE FALL OF BASHAR AL-ASSAD

President Biden visits with members of the 82nd Airborne Division at the G2A Arena March 25, 2022, in Jasionka, Poland. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

While that is about half of the $7.5 trillion that President-elect Trump added to the deficit while he was in office, it’s far more than the $2.5 trillion Trump approved at that same point during his first term. 

Biden has repeatedly defended the spending by his administration and boasted about cutting the deficit by $1.7 trillion. 

“I might note parenthetically: In my first two years, I reduced the debt by $1.7 trillion. No president has ever done that,” Biden said recently. 

That figure, though, refers to a reduction in the national deficit between fiscal years 2020 and 2022. The deficit certainly shrank during that period, though it was largely because emergency measures put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic had expired.

A transgender rights supporter takes part in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court. (Getty Images)

Despite adding to the national debt, the NDAA was strongly bipartisan, but some Democratic lawmakers were against the inclusion of a ban on transgender medical treatments for children of military members if such treatment could result in sterilization.

The bill also included a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others as key to improving the quality of life for those serving in the military.

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The defense act also includes measures to strengthen deterrence against China and calls for an investment of $15.6 billion to bolster military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. The Biden administration had only requested about $10 billion.

Fox News’ Eric Revell and Morgan Phillips, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

President-elect Trump tapped Kari Lake as the next director of the Voice of America, a state-funded U.S. government broadcaster.

“I am pleased to announce that Kari Lake will serve as our next Director of the Voice of America. She will be appointed by, and work closely with, our next head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, who I will announce soon, to ensure that the American values of Freedom and Liberty are broadcast around the World FAIRLY and ACCURATELY, unlike the lies spread by the Fake News Media,” Trump wrote in a release on Wednesday night.

Lake was a longtime Arizona broadcaster who ran unsuccessfully for public office in 2022 and 2024. 

Kari Lake, former U.S. Republican Senate candidate for Arizona, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last week. (Anita Pouchard Serra/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Voice of America is an influential broadcast channel that serves news, information, and cultural programming through the Internet, mobile and social media, radio, and television. 

The broadcaster serves in over 40 languages.

Reparations activists in California hope their snubbed bills that were shelved in September will be re-introduced by a legislator during the next special session that Gov. Gavin Newsom called in January.

“That is one of the primary demands or commands from the community and reparations leaders is for a legislator, it doesn’t even have to be a black legislator, but a legislator to reintroduce those two bills that failed,” California Reparations Task Force Chair Kamilah Moore told Fox News Digital in an interview this week.

The bills, SB 1403 and SB 1331, would have established the California American Freedman’s Affairs Agency to oversee reparations programs and create a dedicated fund for implementing reparations policies, respectively. Both were snubbed after backers said the bills would not move forward and be signed by Newsom.

PROTESTS ERUPT AT CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL AFTER PAIR OF REPARATIONS BILLS SHELVED

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, right, talks to members of Coalition for a Just and Equitable California about two reparations bills, Aug. 31, 2024, at the State House in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)

“I think the reason for Newsom was probably political, like, he didn’t think that these reparations would get so serious so fast,” Moore said. “And then this particular election year when Kamala [Harris] was running for president, and you can’t look too progressive in this political environment we’re in.”

The two bills, authored by members of the California Legislative Black Caucus, were pivotal for the reparations task force to carry out its atoning for what supporters said was a legacy of racist policies that drove disparities for Black people, from housing to education to health.

The Democrat-led California legislature passed a spate of other bills aimed at remedying past racial injustices, but none of them would provide direct payments to African Americans.

“I feel like the caucus and even Newsom were supportive of these bills, and there’s evidence of that. The Black Caucus wrote that letter in June wanting to give $6 million to their friends, the Black freedom Fund, which is problematic,” Moore said. “But the letter also said they wanted to give $6 million to the reparations agency, but then at the last minute, in August, they decided to kill the Reparations Agency Fund bill.”

NEWSOM RAILS AGAINST TRUMP’S 25% TARIFF PLAN DURING SOUTHERN BORDER VISIT: ‘IT’S A BETRAYAL’

Gavin Newsom (Anadolu/Contributor/File)

At the time, then-Sen. Steven Bradford, who is now termed out, said the bills didn’t move forward out of fear they wouldn’t make it past Newsom’s desk.

“We’re at the finish line, and we as the Black Caucus owe it to the descendants of chattel slavery, to Black Californians and Black Americans to move this legislation forward,” Bradford said, urging his colleagues to reconsider the bills.

When the bills got pulled, a group of protesters were outraged inside the Sacramento Capitol after being promised the bills would receive time.

State Republican Assemblyman Bill Essayli accused Democrats in a post on X of going “into hiding” and refusing to bring the bills up for a vote when it came time to pass them despite “promising to pay direct cash reparations to Americans who have been harmed by slavery” for years.

Essayli talked to supporters in the Capitol that day and clarified that he did not support California taxpayers paying for the wrongs of slave states but “believed there should be a debate and a recorded vote on the issue.” He then urged the legislature to bring the bills for a floor debate.

“I don’t think you can constitutionally justify cash payments based on race,” Essayli told Fox News Digital in an interview this week. “[President-elect] Trump created opportunity zones, which resulted in direct investments into minority communities, so I think there’s other [ways] we can get resources and investments to those who have been harmed by racist policies and slavery long ago.”

CALIFORNIA’S UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS SYSTEM ‘BROKEN’ WITH $20B OWED TO FEDS IN LOAN DEBT: REPORT

Members of the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California protest and demand lawmakers take up a vote on two reparations bills, Aug. 31, 2024, in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen)

There are two new reparations bills on the California docket that were introduced during the Dec. 2 special session.

AB 7, introduced by Democrat Assemblymembers Isaac Bryan and Tina McKinnor, proposes allowing California’s higher education institutions, including the California State University, the University of California, independent colleges and private postsecondary institutions, to consider giving admissions preference to applicants who are descendants of American slavery.

AB 57, introduced by McKinnor, seeks to allot a portion of California’s Home Purchase Assistance Program funds for descendants of slaves.

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Newsom has remained silent on most reparations bills introduced this year but approved a nearly $300 billion budget in June, which included up to $12 million for reparations. The budget did not detail which proposals the funds would support, and his administration has expressed opposition to some of the measures.

However, he signed some reparations-related bills, including a “formal apology for California’s historical role in the perpetuation of slavery and its enduring legacy.”

“The State of California accepts responsibility for the role we played in promoting, facilitating, and permitting the institution of slavery, as well as its enduring legacy of persistent racial disparities,” Newsom said in a statement in September. “Building on decades of work, California is now taking another important step forward in recognizing the grave injustices of the past – and making amends for the harms caused.” 

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Republicans and conservatives on social media are taking a victory lap after Senate Democrats failed in a last-minute attempt to keep control of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Wednesday after narrowly losing a vote to end debate on re-appointing the board’s chair, Lauren McFerran.

Outgoing Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had hoped to confirm McFerran, a President Biden pick, to a new five-year term that would have given Democrats control of the influential agency until at least 2026, but the vote failed, 50-49, with independent Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona voting against it. 

The vote, which conservatives had railed against for days by arguing that President-elect Trump should decide the pick after his November election victory, was celebrated by conservatives.

“Working Americans just delivered a massive victory for President Trump and his pro-worker polices, so why on earth would we let Biden choose more NLRB nominees?” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I’m glad we didn’t, and I look forward to working with President Trump to support policies and nominees that are good for working families and all Americans.”

PROGRESSIVE DEMS RAGE AT BIDEN FOR GIVING TRUMP THE SPOTLIGHT DURING FINAL WEEKS IN OFFICE

Sen. Josh Hawley, left, and Sen. Chuck Schumer (File)

“Lauren McFerran’s abysmal record running the Biden-Harris NLRB includes undermining freelancers, crushing businesses of all sizes, and greenlighting vulgar union harassment of American workers,” Tom Hebert, director of competition and regulatory policy for Americans for Tax Reform, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Chuck Schumer tried to put the Trump-Vance NLRB under Democrat control by sneaking McFerran’s renomination through the Senate, anticipating Republican absences. Fortunately for American workers and businesses, Republicans showed up and blocked Schumer’s scheme, ensuring the Trump-Vance NLRB is controlled by pro-worker Republicans instead of anti-worker Democrats.”

BIDEN, DEMOCRATS BACK AWAY FROM BILL THAT WOULD GIVE TRUMP MORE FEDERAL JUDGES TO APPOINT

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite/File)

“I am glad the Senate rejected Democrats’ partisan attempt to deny President Trump the opportunity to choose his own NLRB nominees and enact a pro-America, pro-worker agenda with the mandate he has from the American people,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., posted on X.

“Outstanding work @SenateGOP and free thinkers @SenatorSinema and @Sen_JoeManchin!” Independent Women’s Voice senior policy analyst Carrie Sheffield posted on X. “Another antagonist of @elonmusk and free speech collapses. Paving the way for @realDonaldTrump to fix harmful policies. Great work.”

A point of frustration for Republicans was the fact that Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bernie Sanders denied a request from Cassidy to hold a public hearing on McFerran before advancing her. McFerran’s nomination has been waiting for consideration since August.

In 2021, McFerran’s NLRB ordered Tesla to direct Musk to delete a tweet they said was damaging to a unionization effort at Tesla in a move that was eventually overturned by the U.S. Appeals Court. 

“The current administration is doing everything possible to prevent government efficiency, but @DOGE is inevitable,” Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk posted on X before the vote in response to a post lamenting the Democrat push to advance McFerran. 

Unlike most similar agencies, members of the NLRB cannot be removed by the president at will simply based on policy goals or changing administrations. 

“Any member of the Board may be removed by the President, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause,” the NLRB website states.

In response to the McFerran vote, Democrats pulled the cloture vote for Republican NLRB nominee Joshua Ditelberg, giving Trump the opportunity to fill two seats if nothing changes before inauguration day. 

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Sen. Joe Manchin (Samuel Corum/Getty Images/File)

Schumer filed cloture on McFerran’s nomination on Monday, setting up a vote on Wednesday. In floor remarks, the New York Democrat did not acknowledge the lame-duck nature of the vote, telling his colleagues, “If you truly care about working families, if you care about fixing income inequality in America, then you should be in favor of advancing today’s NLRB nominees. You can’t say you are for working families, then go and vote ‘no’ today, because the NLRB protects workers from mistreatment on the job and from overreaching employers.”

In a statement after the vote, Schumer said, “It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee – with a proven track record of protecting worker rights – did not have the votes.”

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.

Here’s what’s happening…

-Trump border czar fires back after House Dem promises ‘resistance’ to deportations

-New mission for House Republican military veterans: Support Trump defense secretary nominee Hegseth

-Red state AG slams Biden admin’s attempt to ‘rewrite’ immigration law: ‘Alice in Wonderland stuff’

Head of FBI announces departure as Trump choice awaits confirmation

FBI Director Christopher Wray announced plans to step down from his post at the end of the Biden administration.

Fox News learned just moments before the announcement that Wray would make the announcement during an FBI town hall in Washington, D.C., during which thousands of FBI employees are expected to join virtually across the country.

“After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down,” Wray said during the town hall. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission – the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day. In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”…Read more

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 05: Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 05, 2023 in Washington, DC. Wray is expected to lobby for the renewal of a key part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires December 31. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

White House

PARTING GIFTS: Biden admin extends $10B Iran sanctions waiver 2 days after Trump election win…Read more

WIDESPREAD DISAPPROVAL: Biden flip-flop on pardoning son Hunter is wildly unpopular with Americans, poll finds…Read more

BIG REPORT DROPS: House small business panel releases year-end report on ‘partisan’ Biden agency electioneering allegations…Read more

‘SORRY’: Outgoing Treasury Sec. Yellen ‘sorry that we haven’t made more progress,’ believes deficit must be decreased…Read more

 U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks alongside Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on June 6, 2023 in Washington, DC. Biden spoke on the U.S. economy and the bipartisan deal to raise the debt limit.  ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

BENCHED: Biden, Democrats back away from bill that would give Trump more federal judges to appoint…Read more

FINAL GOODBYES: Biden could pardon these Trump antagonists amid Dem fears that ‘revengeful first year’ is looming…Read more

‘TENS OF BILLIONS’: Mast blasts Blinken over ‘tens of billions’ of US taxpayer dollars sent to Taliban post-Afghanistan withdrawal…Read more

Trump Transition

MONEY MOVES: Trump Treasury pick reveals whether Fed Chair Powell will finish term…Read more

POST-PRESIDECNY SENTENCING?: Bragg pitches post-presidency Trump sentencing in renewed push urging Judge Merchan to keep conviction alive…Read more

‘FUELING OBESITY’: GOP governor calls on incoming Trump officials to ban junk food in food stamps: ‘Make America Healthy Again’…Read more

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders is calling for an end of junk food as part of the SNAP program (Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

CHIPS DEPLOYED: Top DOGE senator demands answers on plan to exhaust CHIPs Act funds before Trump arrives…Read more

COMING BACK?: Former Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner, convicted of illicit contact with minor, files to run for NYC Council…Read more

TIME IS MONEY: House GOP fiscal hawks warn Trump tax cuts in danger of expiring under new Senate-backed plan…Read more

The dome of the U.S. Capitol building is seen from a perch in Washington, D.C. (Fox News Digital)

HANDICAPPING TRUMP: Manchin, Sinema tank Schumer lame-duck effort to secure Dem majority on top labor board…Read more

‘GOING CRAZY’: Outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman issues ‘Dear White People’ thread following Daniel Penny acquittal…Read more

ROOTING OUT WOKE: Democrats in a bind over defense bill that bans transgender surgeries for minors but boosts enlisted pay…Read more

‘COMMON GROUND’: Hakeem Jeffries says he’s ‘prepared to find common ground’ with Trump next year…Read more

Across America

WORKING REMOTE: Nation’s largest labor union for federal employees rebukes GOP’s efforts to end telework…Read more

‘REWARD’: ‘DeSanta Claus’ strikes again: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announces extra days off for state workers…Read more

D.A. DOUBLES DOWN: Fani Willis declines to share Jack Smith, Jan. 6 records, citing legal exemptions…Read more

Fulton County DA Fani Willis testified in a hearing last month regarding allegations that she engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a prosecutor she had hired to work on her case against former President Trump. (Getty Images)

FIGHTING BACK: Federal judge who refuses mental evaluation at age 97 fights suspension…Read more

E STREET SHUFFLE: Dem NJ gubernatorial candidate cops to faking playlist to feature Bruce Springsteen…Read more

‘WASTING TAXPAYERS’ MONEY’: New Yorkers protest removal of 400 migrants from Albany hotels…Read more

Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

FIRST ON FOX: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, signaled he is not finished with his oversight of FBI Director Christopher Wray’s handling of the bureau, even after the intelligence official announced he was stepping down.

Jordan said Wray’s resignation was “great” news and lambasted his handling of the FBI in comments to Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“I mean, Chris Wray was, you know, investigating moms and dads who show up for school board meetings. He was putting out a memorandum on saying, ‘If you’re a pro-life Catholic, you’re an extremist.’ The FBI retaliated against whistleblowers who came and gave us that kind of information. We learned yesterday that they were spying on congressional staffers and their metadata. And of course, he raided President Trump’s home,” Jordan said.

GRASSLEY RIPS WRAY’S ‘FAILED’ LEADERSHIP AT FBI WITH 11 PAGES OF EXAMPLES IN BLISTERING ‘NO CONFIDENCE’ LETTER

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan signaled he is not done with his oversight of FBI Director Christopher Wray (Getty Images)

Wray previously denied targeting pro-life activists. He also defended the FBI’s handling of a Department of Justice (DOJ) memo raising alarms about conduct at school board meetings, though he said last year that there was “no compelling nationwide law enforcement justification” for the directive to be issued.

Jordan has made no secret of his thoughts on Wray’s leadership, overseeing multiple inquiries by the House Judiciary Committee into his leadership.

When asked by Fox News Digital if that oversight will continue, Jordan said, “Oh, yeah.”

“And there’s, we think, reports coming that are going to, you know, shed even more light on what’s been going on down line from the from the inspector general,” Jordan said.

WHO IS KASH PATEL? TRUMP’S PICK TO LEAD FBI HAS LONG HISTORY VOWING TO BUST UP ‘DEEP STATE’

Trump tapped Kash Patel to succeed Wray (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

He also praised President-elect Trump’s new nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel.

Fox News first reported Wray’s intent to resign seven years into his 10-year term earlier on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Trump’s pick to replace him had already been meeting with senators for days ahead of an anticipated confirmation hearing.

DONALD TRUMP ON FBI DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER WRAY: ‘HE INVADED MY HOME’

Jordan said Wray’s resignation was “great” news (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“After weeks of careful thought, I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down. My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray told FBI colleagues. “In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.”   

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Jordan told Fox News Digital he was not surprised at Wray’s decision.

“I mean when the president nominates someone to replace you, you’ve got to go, man,” Jordan said.

The San Diego County sheriff says her office will not change its practices with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the county’s board of supervisors moved to further restrict that cooperation ahead of the Trump administration taking office next year.

“The sheriff’s office will not change its practices based on the board resolution and policy that was passed at today’s meeting,” Sheriff Kelly Martinez’s office said in a statement. “The board of supervisors does not set policy for the sheriff’s office. The sheriff, as an independently elected official, sets the policy for the sheriff’s office.”

The statement came after a 3-1 vote by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors on a resolution to restrict ICE cooperation with local law enforcement.

CALIFORNIA COUNTY VOTES TO RAMP UP SANCTUARY POLICIES AHEAD OF TRUMP DEPORTATION PUSH: ‘RADICAL POLICY’ 

In this undated photo, ICE agents arrest an illegal immigrant. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

The resolution says the county will not provide assistance or cooperation to ICE, “including by giving ICE agents access to individuals or allowing them to use County facilities for investigative interviews or other purposes, expending County time or resources responding to ICE inquiries or communicating with ICE regarding individuals’ incarceration status or release dates, or otherwise participating in any civil immigration enforcement activities.”

When ICE is aware of suspected illegal immigrants in local or state custody, it will file a detainer with law enforcement, typically requesting that the agency is notified ahead of the suspected illegal immigrants’ release and, in some cases, that they be held until ICE can take custody of them.

ICE says this helps detain illegal immigrants without having to go into communities and gets illegal immigrant offenders off the streets. Sanctuary proponents say that such policies chill cooperation between law enforcement and otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants.

BLUE STATE COUNTY TEES UP VOTE ON ‘KNEE-JERK’ RESOLUTION TO PROTECT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM DEPORTATION

“When federal immigration authorities, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol coerce local law enforcement to carry out deportations, family members are separated and community trust in law enforcement and local government is destroyed,” an overview of the resolution claims. 

“Witnesses and victims who are undocumented or who have loved ones who are undocumented are afraid to come to the County for help, which includes calling local law enforcement. This puts the public safety of all San Diegans at risk.”

Proponents of the resolution say California’s sanctuary law has too many loopholes and still allows agencies to notify ICE of release dates and transfer some individuals into their custody.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

It was a claim with which Martinez disagreed.

Thomas Homan, the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, speaks during a Department of Homeland Security press conference to announce end-of-year numbers regarding immigration enforcement, border security and national security Dec. 5, 2017, in Washington, D.C.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“As the sheriff of San Diego County, my No. 1 priority is protecting the safety and well-being of all residents of our diverse region. While protecting the rights of undocumented immigrants is crucial, it is equally important to ensure that victims of crimes are not overlooked or neglected in the process,” she said.

The San Diego County Sheriff is a nonpartisan office, but Martinez has identified as a Democrat personally.

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“Victims include undocumented individuals. These vulnerable individuals express to me that their legal status is used as a weapon against them when offenders from their community victimize them,” she said. “We must protect the well-being of individuals, including those who are undocumented, which requires a careful approach that upholds the principles of justice, fairness and compassion for all individuals involved.”

It comes ahead of what is expected to be a historic mass deportation campaign by the incoming Trump administration. Incoming border czar Tom Homan has said no one is off the table when it comes to deportations, although public safety threats will be the priority.

EXCLUSIVE: The incoming chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is pledging a thorough accounting of how taxpayer dollars have been used by the State Department when he takes the reins of the influential panel next year.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., is expected to take the helm from current Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who is term-limited.

“When you’re dealing with the State Department, it is dollars going to foreign companies, foreign countries, foreign NGOs and, like Afghanistan, foreign adversaries – the Taliban. And that needs – to have to use a word out there – a colonoscopy, to say the least,” Mast told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“That will be the focus of the committee. That will be the focus of each and every subcommittee – is getting into each of the branches of the bureaus across the State Department, working with [Trump Secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.], of course, and … really having a way to put sunlight on this in a way that this [Biden] administration did not allow.”

GENERAL INVOLVED IN AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL HAS PROMOTION CONFIRMED BY SENATE

Rep. Brian Mast, a top ally of President-elect Trump, will be the new House Foreign Affairs Committee chair. (Getty Images)

Mast said he wants the State Department to be required to notify Congress of each grant it issues, “So we have eyes on where you’re sending these dollars, to third-party and fourth-party and fifth-party places abroad, and be able to [say], ‘No, that’s not one that we’re going to authorize.’”

The decorated Afghanistan war veteran won a crowded four-way race to succeed McCaul as the top Republican on the House committee overseeing the State Department and U.S. foreign relations.

He’s been in Congress for less time than the Republicans he ran against, but Mast has stood out as one of Trump’s most crucial allies in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Mast led the Veterans For Trump coalition and was a surrogate at several events related to service members.

The Florida Republican is also notably less hawkish on Ukraine than two of the Republicans he ran against: Reps. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., and Joe Wilson, R-S.C., as well as McCaul.

TALIBAN BANS WOMEN ‘HEARING OTHER WOMEN’S VOICES’ IN LATEST DECREE

The committee is currently led by Chair Michael McCaul. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Like Trump, he’s critical of continued U.S. aid to Ukraine and has voted against supplemental funding in the past.

“President Trump wants Ukraine to have victory. He wants this to absolutely be a reprimand [of] the actions of Russia and [President] Vladimir Putin, and he wants to bring this to an end promptly. He has a plan for doing that. He will execute that, and he will have every bit of my support in doing that as the authorizing side of foreign affairs for the House,” Mast said.

He also pointed out his deep relationships with the Trump administration, including ties to Rubio and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., the incoming national security adviser.

Asked if his ties to Trump were part of his argument to win the gavel, Mast said that it “certainly was.”

Mast also praised Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But his overall aim for the committee, Mast said, would be based on the principle of “Every diplomat and every dollar puts America first.”

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“If you’re a diplomat that’s out there apologizing for America and not putting America first, you’re going to be under our microscope. That’s for sure. And I hope that has a chilling effect on them,” Mast said while pointing out that Rubio would likely be a partner in that goal.

“But as we all know, when our colleagues get these opportunities to take over these agencies … you go in there with years and years and years of decades-long employees there that maybe are not ideologically aligned. Well, guess what? If you were one of the 15 people that were signing on to spending half a million American taxpayer dollars on atheism, then you should know that we’re looking for you.”

In a lame duck effort, President Biden and Senate Democrats tried to re-confirm National Labor Relations Board Chair Lauren McFerran, a Democrat, to another five-year term, and thereby solidify a Democrat majority on the board until well into President-elect Donald Trump’s term. 

However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., failed to handicap Trump’s impact on labor and unions for the first two years of his term with the vote, which took place on Wednesday afternoon.

Outgoing Sens. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., dealt their caucus blows, voting down the test vote. 

MCCONNELL’S SENATE MONEY MACHINE MAKES TRANSITION TO THUNE AS NEW ERA BEGINS

Schumer teed up a controversial vote that solidified the NLRB’s Democrat leadership well into Trump’s term. (Reuters)

McFerran was not re-confirmed on the floor, despite the Democrats’ effort. Her nomination has been waiting to be considered since August when Democrats advanced her out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). The Democrats notably have a razor-thin majority of only 51 and making sure all senators are there to vote can often be tricky. 

Senators voted 49 to 50 against ending debate and proceeding to a vote on her re-confirmation. 

Schumer said in a statement following the failed cloture vote: “It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee — with a proven track record of protecting worker rights — did not have the votes.”

A point of frustration for Republicans was the fact that HELP Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., denied a request from his counterpart Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, R-La., to hold a public hearing on McFerran before advancing her. 

‘EXCEPTIONALLY QUALIFIED’: TRUMP TRANSITION ROLLS OUT VIDEO HYPING HEGSETH AMID CAPITOL HILL MEETINGS

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks on the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 20, 2024 (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

“This NLRB seat should be filled by President Trump and the new incoming Senate. Not a historically unpopular president and a Senate Democrat Majority that has lost its mandate to govern,” Cassidy said in a statement. “I am glad the Senate rejected Democrats’ partisan attempt to deny President Trump the opportunity to choose his own nominees and enact a pro-America, pro-worker agenda with the mandate he has from the American people.” 

Schumer filed cloture on her nomination on Monday, setting up a vote on Wednesday. In floor remarks, the New York Democrat did not acknowledge the lame-duck nature of the vote, telling his colleagues, “If you truly care about working families, if you care about fixing income inequality in America, then you should be in favor of advancing today’s NLRB nominees. You can’t say you are for working families, then go and vote no today, because the NLRB protects workers from mistreatment on the job, and from overreaching employers.”

RACHEL MORIN’S MOM PLEADS SENATORS ‘HEAR OUR CRIES FOR HELP’ IN MASS DEPORTATIONS HEARING TESTIMONY

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., attends a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 5, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

In his own remarks, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, “The NLRB member who’s held primary responsibility for executing on the Biden-Big Labor agenda is its chair, Lauren McFerran. And she’s up for confirmation to another term.”

GOP SENATOR QUESTIONS FBI OVER REPORTED IRANIAN HACK ATTEMPT OF TRUMP PICK KASH PATEL

He added, “This is to say nothing of the fact that her confirmation would give a lame-duck President control of an independent board well into his successor’s term!”

Since McFerran was not re-confirmed, the position will be Trump’s to fill during his term.

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Trump’s transition team did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk sounded the alarm bell on Schumer and Biden’s effort on Monday, writing on X, “EMERGENCY: Chuck Schumer is trying to ram through Dem activist Lauren McFerran for another term chairing the National Labor Relations Board—a very big deal. If successful, we will have a Dem Chair of the NLRB for the first 2 YEARS of Trump’s Presidency. We need every GOP Senator to show up and block her!”

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the country’s largest labor union for federal employees, is fighting back against GOP criticisms that government employees are abusing the use of remote work.

With the incoming Trump administration, Republicans have gone on the offensive when it comes to challenging remote-work and work-from-home policies that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been maintained for years later. 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., unveiled a package of bills last week that she plans to introduce, aimed at holding the federal government more accountable for its use of taxpayer dollars. One of the bills seeks to require federal agencies to submit a report on the impacts of expanded teleworking since the pandemic, as well as details about how they plan to implement remote-work policies going forward. 

Blackburn’s bills coincide with a report penned recently by Sen. Joni Ernst, R–Iowa, chair of the new Department of Government Efficiency caucus, which posits ways to reduce the level of government employees working remotely, such as by tracking their individual productivity and tying it to their ability to work-from-home.

TO BE REMOTE OR NOT TO BE? THAT IS THE BURNING FEDERAL WORKPLACE QUESTION

Meanwhile, AFGE, which represents roughly 800,000 civil servants, is rebuking these efforts, deriding them as “a deliberate attempt to demean the federal workforce and justify the wholesale privatization of public-sector jobs.”

Republicans are challenging remote-work and work-from-home policies that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic. (iStock)

AFGE put out a press release Friday to “set the record straight” on what the group described as an exaggeration from GOP politicians about the misuse of telework. “AFGE believes that facts matter, and that lawmakers should be guided by the facts when making decisions that affect the lives of their constituents,” the press statement said. 

The document laid out a handful of “myths” about federal employee telework. Several they named came from Ernst’s report that she presented to President-elect Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) last week, including one that claims “nearly one-third” of the federal workforce is “entirely remote.” 

According to AFGE, only 10% of federal civilian workers “were in remote positions where there was no expectation that they worked in-person,” citing an August 2024 report to Congress from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 

SENATE DOGE LEADER ERNST TO TAKE ON GOVERNMENT TELEWORK ABUSE AT FIRST MEETING WITH MUSK, RAMASWAMY

The labor group also challenged Ernst’s claims from her report that “most federal workers are eligible to telework and 90% of [them] are,” as well as her claim that only 6% of the federal workforce goes into the office every single day. Citing the same OMB report to Congress, AFGE argued that actually fewer than half – roughly 46% – of federal workers are eligible for telework, while adding that 54% of the federal workforce have jobs that require them to be in-person every single day.

In response to AFGE’s challenge of her claims, Ernst said “the real myth” was that bureaucrats are showing up to work.

“Federal employees are already squealing, and the unions representing them are shamelessly fighting tooth and nail against returning to the office,” the Iowa senator told Fox News Digital. “I invite public sector unions to support my legislation to track their productivity during the workday. This will show how hard they are working for the American people and settle this debate once and for all. In the coming days, I will be highlighting more profiles of ‘working’ from home. The tips from whistleblowers just keep coming into my office.”

Sen. Joni Ernst speaks to reporters following a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 17, 2023. ( Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Other “myths” the labor union sought to debunk included claims from Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, both tapped by Trump to lead DOGE, and Russell Vought, Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget. One claim AFGE focused on from Musk argued that when you exclude federal personnel who cannot work remotely due to their day-to-day responsibilities, such as “security guards and maintenance personnel,” the number of federal workers going into the office for at least 40 hours per week is around 1%.

A similar claim was also backed up by a source familiar with the data used in Ernst’s report, who said the numbers used by AFGE are cherry-picked because they rely on federal workers who could not work remotely if they wanted to, such as Border Patrol officers and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents.

TSA agent checks a passenger’s ticket. (AP)

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Last week, AFGE secured a deal with the Biden administration’s Social Security Administration to set current levels of telework at the agency through 2029. The move will impact roughly 42,000 federal workers, according to Bloomberg News, and will serve to protect the ability to do remote work until the agreed upon contract expires in five years.

Fox News Digital reached out to AFGE for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that state workers will get three extra days off this month.

“In addition to Christmas Day and New Years Day, our state workers will get three extra days off—December 23, 24 and 31—to spend more time with their families and loved ones this holiday season,” the governor declared in a post on X.

State offices will be closed on all five of those days, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

DESANTIS WELCOMES FLORIDA STATE LAWMAKER TO REPUBLICAN PARTY AS SHE DITCHES DEMOCRATS

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, holds a press conference to speak in opposition to Amendment 4, which would limit government interference with abortion in Florida at The Grove Bible Chapel in Winter Garden, Fla. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

“Florida is in great shape, and we want to reward our state employees,” DeSantis said, according to the press release. “After a full year—including three costly hurricanes—we hope these extra days off allow for state workers to spend more time with their families and loved ones during this holiday season.”

Last month “state workers were given off for November 27,” the day before Thanksgiving, Dan Barrow of the Florida Department of Management Services confirmed to Fox News Digital via email on Wednesday.

The department’s website lists nine dates “observed as paid holidays by state agencies,” in 2024, including, New Year’s Day, Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday following Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.

TRUMP PRESSING DESANTIS TO NAME LARA TRUMP AS RUBIO’S SENATE SUCCESSOR: SOURCE

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives a victory speech after defeating Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rep. Charlie Crist during his election night watch party at the Tampa Convention Center on Nov. 8, 2022 in Tampa, Fla. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

“Full-time employees are entitled to one personal holiday each year,” the site also notes.

Last year, DeSantis announced that state offices would be closed Nov. 22, Dec. 26, December 29, and Jan. 2, on top of regular closures during the holidays, according to a November 2023 press release.

FLORIDA LAWMAKER INTRODUCES BILL TO REQUIRE DACA STUDENTS TO PAY OUT-OF-STATE TUITION

The Florida State flag flies during the game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022 at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla. (Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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“Our state employees have worked tirelessly throughout the year to aid and assist Florida families,” DeSantis said, according to the release. “Over the past few months, they have selflessly responded to Hurricane Idalia and the State of Florida’s Israel Rescue Operation. Closing state offices on these additional days will provide state employees with some much-deserved time with their families and loved ones while enjoying the holiday season.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office filed a legal brief calling on Justice Juan Merchan to not toss President-elect Donald Trump’s guilty verdict in the Manhattan criminal case, offering alternative options to keep the case on ice until after Trump’s second administration. 

“President-elect immunity does not exist. And even after the inauguration, defendant’s temporary immunity as the sitting President will still not justify the extreme remedy of discarding the jury’s unanimous guilty verdict and wiping out the already-completed phases of this criminal proceeding,” the Tuesday court filing from Bragg’s office states. 

​​Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan case in May. Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006.

Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and repeatedly railed against it as an example of lawfare promoted by Democrats in an effort to hurt his election efforts ahead of November. 

NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES SAYS SHE WON’T DROP CIVIL FRAUD CASE AGAINST TRUMP

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower on Thursday, May 30, 2024 after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

Trump’s sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed. Trump’s lawyers had asked Merchan to overturn the former president’s guilty verdict after the Supreme Court ruled in July that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office, but not for unofficial acts. Merchan has not yet ruled on the immunity argument. 

PROSECUTORS REQUEST STAY IN TRUMP NY CASE UNTIL 2029 AS DEFENSE PLANS MOTION FOR DISMISSAL ‘ONCE AND FOR ALL’

Bragg’s office acknowledged in its Tuesday filing that Trump cannot be sentenced as president but argued M​​erchan has various options to keep the case on ice until 2029 and sentence Trump following his second presidential administration. 

“[N]o principle of immunity precludes further proceedings before defendant’s inauguration. And even if judgment has not been entered at the time of defendant’s inauguration, there is no legal barrier to deferring sentencing until after defendant’s term of office concludes,” the filing said.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg departs Daniel Penny’s trial at the Manhattan Supreme Criminal Court building in New York City on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

BRAGG CASE ‘EFFECTIVELY OVER’ IN ‘MAJOR VICTORY,’ TRUMP OFFICIALS SAY

The DA’s office argued that a stay of proceedings in the case would exempt the former and upcoming president “from any immediate obligations in this case during his time in office, while at the same time respecting the public interest in upholding the rule of law and preserving the meaningful aspects of the criminal process that have already taken place.” The DA’s office had already called for a stay in the case following the election, with Tuesday’s filing doubling down on that argument. 

“To be sure, the People do not dispute that presidential immunity requires accommodation during a President’s time in office. But the extreme remedy of dismissing the indictment and vacating the jury verdict is not warranted in light of multiple alternative accommodations that would fully address the concerns raised by presidential immunity,” their filing said.

TRUMP DEMANDS NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES DROP CIVIL FRAUD CASE ‘FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF THE COUNTRY’

Judge Juan Merchan, left, and President-elect Donald Trump. (AP)

Bragg’s office also floated that Merchan could use a legal procedure known as abatement, which is a practice used in states such as Alabama when a defendant dies after a conviction, but before sentencing. In those cases, the state can preserve the conviction but halt other court proceedings. 

TRUMP LAWYERS DEMAND BRAGG CASE BE ‘IMMEDIATELY DISMISSED,’ SAY ELECTION ‘SUPERSEDES’ POLITICAL ‘MOTIVATIONS’

Trump spokesman Steven Chueng slammed the filing Tuesday as “a pathetic attempt to salvage the remains of an unconstitutional and politically motivated hoax.”

Following Trump’s win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month, ​​Trump officials exclusively told Fox News Digital that the case was “effectively over” as Bragg requested a stay until 2029. 

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“Prosecutors are trying to save face,” a Trump official told Fox News Digital. “They know this case will soon be thrown out.” 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., whose once-promising career was seemingly destroyed by sexting scandals, is eyeing a political comeback and exploring a return to New York City Council.

Weiner, 60, who resigned from Congress in 2011 after admitting to sending women explicit photos, has filed to run for a seat on the council where he previously served for six years in the 1990s representing Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn.

Campaign finance records list a campaign committee that was set up on Friday for Weiner called Weiner 25, in addition to listing him as a candidate for a council seat in Lower Manhattan.

ANTHONY WEINER MULLS RETURN: DISGRACED EX-POL SAYS NEW YORK CITY NEEDS NEW LEADERSHIP

Disgraced former Democrat Congressman Anthony Weiner, whose once-promising career was seemingly destroyed by sexting scandals, is eyeing a political comeback and exploring a return to New York City Council. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

In a phone conversation Tuesday with The Associated Press, Weiner said he is “still exploring” whether to actually campaign for the office. He said he opened the committee late last week so he could participate in a forum held by the Downtown Independent Democrats later this week.

He said on his weekly radio show that he hasn’t fully decided on a run just yet and is considering the personal dynamics of a return to politics.

Responding to calls from reporters and listeners to his 77WABC radio program last month, Weiner said he wasn’t done with politics and that people in his neighborhood have approached him about returning to office.

“The way I always unpack these things is ‘What does it mean for me and my neighbors?’ The city has always been the way that I have looked at service. And, you know, we are Democrats. We stand up… for each other… we don’t like people being victimized by bullies,” Weiner said. 

Weiner said New York City should always be the “shining laboratory” of Democratic Party ideals and said that “for years we had Republicans running this town.”

From 1994 to 2002, Republican Rudy Giuliani served as mayor. He was succeeded by Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Independent Michael Bloomberg until 2013. 

ANTHONY WEINER SPARS WITH WATTERS, DEFENDS BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM: ‘CRIME IS DOWN’

Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin were married in 2010. (Getty Images)

The City Council, however, has historically been a supermajority of Democrats and currently has just six Republicans compared to 45 Democrats.

Weiner blamed part of the homeless and migrant problem on a 1979 class action suit brought against then-Gov. Hugh L. Carey and Mayor Ed Koch that resulted in the “Callahan Decree” – which instituted a right-to-shelter for homeless men.

He continued through a litany of things he would like to see improved about the city, such as being able to walk into a Duane Reade with his son and not find most of the store’s goods locked up.

Weiner was once seen as then-Rep. Chuck Schumer’s protégé and had a close relationship with his fellow Brooklynite. When Schumer gave up his House seat and successfully won the Senate seat of retiring Republican Al D’Amato, Weiner replaced him in 1999 and served 12 years before resigning in disgrace after sending lewd photos.

After his resignation, Weiner continued sexting under the pseudonym “Carlos Danger.” The main recipient, Sydney Leathers, who was 22 at the time, claimed the former lawmaker referred to himself as “an argumentative, perpetually horny middle-aged man.”

He tried to make a comeback in 2013 to run for mayor but was damaged by new revelations of explicit photos Weiner had sent under the pseudonym.

Anthony Weiner, right, and Huma Abedin are seen in court in September 2017 in New York. The couple appeared before a New York City judge to ask for privacy in their divorce case. (Jefferson Siegel/The Daily News via AP)

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A few years later, in 2016, he was embroiled in another sexting scandal during which he separated from his wife, longtime Hillary Clinton confidante Huma Abedin, who is now engaged to Alex Soros, the son of left-wing billionaire George Soros. In one image Weiner sent, he was lying in bed with his young son.  

Later that year, claims surfaced again, this time that Weiner had sexted a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina and his laptop was seized. Investigators found emails pertinent to Clinton’s classified documents scandal that preceded her upset loss to President-elect Donald Trump.

Weiner later checked himself into rehab for sex addiction and in 2017 was sentenced to 21 months in his federal sexting case – which imploded his then-bid for mayor. He was released in 2019 and was ordered to register as a sex offender.

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Outgoing Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen said that she’s “concerned about fiscal sustainability” and thinks the deficit must be decreased.

She made the comments during the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit after Greg Ip, chief economic commentator for the outlet, noted that President Joe Biden and Yellen are leaving behind a big budget deficit. “Are you sorry you couldn’t make more progress on that?” he asked. Ip also asked Yellen how much risk the issue presents to the economy.

“Well I am concerned about fiscal sustainability. And I am sorry that we haven’t made more progress. I believe that the deficit needs to be brought down, especially now that we’re in an environment of higher interest rates,” Yellen replied. 

BIDEN SAYS TRUMP INHERITING ‘STRONGEST ECONOMY IN MODERN HISTORY,’ SLAMS TARIFF PLAN AS ‘MAJOR MISTAKE’ 

Biden delivers remarks alongside Yellen during a Cabinet Meeting at the White House on June 6, 2023 in Washington, D.C.  ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Yellen helmed the Treasury Department during President Joe Biden’s White House tenure, but will soon step down as Biden’s term ends next month.

In that time, the already-massive national debt continued soaring to new heights, and has now surpassed $36 trillion.

“Today, the U.S. economy is in strong shape, with a robust labor market and solid economic growth. Tune in as I join @Greg_Ip at the @WSJ CEO Council Summit to discuss the economic progress we have made under the leadership of @POTUS and @VP,” Yellen declared in a post on X.

US NATIONAL DEBT HITS A NEW RECORD: $36 TRILLION

Yellen talks to reporters during a news conference at the Treasury Department on Oct. 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump decisively defeated Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential contest, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

The president-elect tapped Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury Department secretary in his upcoming administration.

“Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists,” Trump said in a statement last month.

YELLEN TOUTS IRS ENFORCEMENT AS HELPING CLOSE THE BUDGET DEFICIT

Yellen gives remarks at an event celebrating the Community Development Financial Institutions FUND (CDFI) at the U.S. Treasury Department on Nov. 21, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Yellen previously served as chair of the Federal Reserve Board of governors from early February 2014 through early February 2018.

President Biden and key Democrats are now opposing a once bipartisan bill that would have authorized 63 new permanent district judgeship, now that President-elect Trump would be the one to fill 21 of those slots once he takes office.

The Senate in August passed the “Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved Act” or the “JUDGES Act of 2024,” which staggers the 63 new permanent judgeships the president may choose over the next 10 years. Citing how courts are burdened by heavy caseloads, the bill says the president shall appoint 11 of those permanent judgeships in 2025 and 11 more in 2027. The president would tap another 10 judges in 2029, 11 in 2031, 10 in 2033 and 10 more in 2035, the bill says. 

Democrats are decrying how the bill did not come to a vote in the House before the election – when control of the next presidency, and therefore which party would choose those next 21 judges, still hung in the balance. 

The White House released a statement on Tuesday saying Biden would now veto the bill if it comes to his desk. 

“While judicial staffing is important to the rule of law, S. 4199 is unnecessary to the efficient and effective administration of justice,” the White House said. “The bill would create new judgeships in states where Senators have sought to hold open existing judicial vacancies. Those efforts to hold open vacancies suggest that concerns about judicial economy and caseload are not the true motivating force behind passage of this bill now.” 

TRUMP WILL APPOINT ‘DOZENS’ OF JUDGES, EXPERTS SAY, DESPITE DEMS RAMMING THROUGH NOMINEES IN LAME-DUCK SESSION

President Biden speaks at a “Christmas Dinner for All” in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024.  (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“In addition, neither the House nor the Senate fully explored how the work of senior status judges and magistrate judges affects the need for new judgeships,” the White House continued. “Further, the Senate passed this bill in August, but the House refused to take it up until after the election. Hastily adding judges with just a few weeks left in the 118th Congress would fail to resolve key questions in the legislation, especially regarding how the judges are allocated.” 

During a House Rules Committee hearing on Monday, Rep. Chip Roy, R-N.C., and House Judiciary Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, made the argument that a significant number of districts in states, regardless of their political make-up, have sounded the alarm about staffing shortages worsening the backlogs of cases. But despite the significant need, they argued, the appointment process has become politicized.

“We need the number of judges,” Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, admitted. “However, President Trump has shown, he bragged that by his three appointments, he overturned Roe v. Wade. He said he was going to do it. He did it. So don’t tell me it’s not political.” 

“Under this legislation, we all promised to give the next three unknown presidents a certain number of judges,” Nadler said. “Because no one can tell the future we were all at an equal disadvantage, but for this deal to work, the bill had to be passed before Election Day.”

The bill text cites how as of March 31, 2023, there were 686,797 pending cases in the district courts across the country, with an average of 491 weighted case filings per judgeship over a 12-month period.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., says he now opposes the JUDGES Act that President-elect Trump won on Election Day.  (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Shortly before the White House released its statement signaling Biden would veto the bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., gave a speech noting how the JUDGES Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent in August.

TRUMP NAMES ALINA HABBA AS COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT; REVEALS SEVERAL STATE DEPARTMENT PICKS

The bipartisan support, McConnell argued, proved “that the right to a speedy trial still enjoys overwhelming popularity.” 

“I was particularly encouraged by the vocal endorsement of our friend, the Democratic leader, who recognized the measure as, quote, ‘very responsible, bipartisan and prudent bill that would lead to a better functioning judiciary.’ Soon, we expect the House to take up and pass the JUDGES Act with similar overwhelming support,” McConnell said. “And normally, we could rest assured that such popular action would be signed into law without further ado. But maybe not this time.” 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., slammed the White House’s newfound opposition to the once bipartisan JUDGES Act.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Last week, the White House seemed to suggest, through anonymous comment that President Biden has concerns with the bill. I, for one, would be curious to hear the president’s rationale. It’s hard to imagine a justification for blocking the JUDGES Act that doesn’t smack of naked partisanship,” McConnell, who did lead the GOP effort to block former President Obama’s appointment of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court, said. “It’s almost inconceivable that a lame duck president would consider vetoing such an obviously prudential step for any reason other than selfish spite.”

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“Litigants across America deserve their day in court,” he said. “They deserve to know the federal judiciary has the bandwidth to carefully and thoroughly consider their cases. The president, former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is well equipped to appreciate this fact, and I hope he acts accordingly.” 

Florida state Sen. Randy Fine, a Republican, proposed a bill to require high school graduates with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, status to pay out-of-state tuition for college.

Fine claims the state cannot afford to subsidize tuition for students who are not in the country legally and says the policy passed in 2014 offering them in-state tuition costs Florida $45 million a year.

Under S.B. 90, DACA students would no longer qualify for in-state tuition, which costs an average of $6,143 for the 2024-2025 academic year, according to the State University System of Florida. The University of Florida, for example, is $6,381 for in-state tuition but $28,658 for out-of-state tuition, according to US News & World Report.

DESANTIS WELCOMES FLORIDA STATE LAWMAKER TO REPUBLICAN PARTY AS SHE DITCHES DEMOCRATS

Florida state Sen. Randy Fine proposed a bill to require high school graduates with DACA status to pay out-of-state tuition for college. (Getty Images)

“While blue-collar Floridians are struggling to make ends meet, it is not fair to require them to pay $45 million a year to subsidize sweetheart deals for college degrees to those who should not even be here,” Fine said in a statement.

“This is a no-brainer way to reduce the size of government and free up resources to help Floridians in need,” he continued. “We must put Floridians first, and I am proud to do my part to rebalance the scales for our citizens.”

The bill would not modify the admission policies of Florida’s 12 state universities and 28 state colleges.

The bill would not modify the admission policies of Florida’s 12 state universities and 28 state colleges. (Getty Images)

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat, has expressed strong opposition to the bill, arguing that the proposed change would create significant financial barriers for students who have lived in Florida most of their lives.

“These are students who have only known the United States as home,” Eskamani said, according to Fox 13.

Eskamani also noted that many DACA students do not qualify for scholarships and are already at a financial disadvantage.

The legislation, Fine argues, is about “ensuring people who shouldn’t be in the country aren’t getting discounted educations,” according to Fox 13.

TRUMP PRESSING DESANTIS TO NAME LARA TRUMP AS RUBIO’S SENATE SUCCESSOR: SOURCE

Fine claims the state cannot afford to subsidize tuition for students who are not in the country legally. (Getty Images)

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Fine’s previous attempts to pass similar legislation have come up short, but Democrats worry that increased national focus on immigration issues, such as President-elect Trump promising mass deportations in his second term, could give the bill momentum this time around.

“I am concerned this policy may have legs this year,” Eskamani said.

Fine, who joined the state Senate last month, is resigning from the legislature, effective March 31, so he can run for the U.S. House seat that is expected to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., who was nominated by Trump to be his White House national security advisor.

EXCLUSIVE: A top U.S. senator is expected to demand that Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo explain her reported plans to exhaust the remainder of the CHIPs and Science Act’s multibillion-dollar appropriations before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

“Your recent mandate to the Department of Commerce staff to work overtime–including weekends–spending billions of dollars in funding provided by the CHIPs and Science Act as quickly as possible before President-elect Trump takes office in January is extremely concerning,” Senate DOGE Caucus leader Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, writes in a letter that’s to be given to Raimondo on Wednesday.

Ernst called on Raimondo, the previous Rhode Island governor, to immediately halt all last-minute spending plans.

Raimondo recently told Politico she’d “like to have really almost all of the money obligated” from what is one of President Biden’s major government spending initiatives “by the time we leave.”

‘DOGE’-MEETS-CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER AARON BEAN LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’

Gina Raimondo (REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File)

The CHIPs Act, sponsored by then-Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, sought to invest in domestic semiconductor manufacturing, research, development and other related endeavors.

In her letter, Ernst said microchips and other “essential goods” strengthen the U.S. economy and supply chain.

She said that the success of the CHIPs Act hinges on careful planning and execution, which, according to her interpretation, are not reflected in Raimondo’s remarks regarding the upcoming final rounds of spending.

“[B]inge buying shopping sprees by bureaucrats shoveling billions out the door before your term expires” are unwise, she said.

“This is not a time to let the CHIPs fall where they may,” she said, pointing to reports that nearly $280 billion in COVID-19 response funding was wasted or subject to fraud.

RAMASWAMY OUTLINES DOGE’S VISION

“Shoveling out heaps of taxpayer dollars as fast as possible, with little to no oversight, is part of the reason the United States government is nearly $36 trillion in debt today,” Ernst wrote.

In exclusive comments to Fox News Digital, Ernst quipped that while “Black Friday might have come-and-gone, the Biden administration is on a spending spree, convinced every tax dollar must go.”

“We’ve never seen bureaucrats work this hard, and you can be sure they made a list and aren’t checking it twice to find out who is naughty and nice. This is backwards and underscores the need for DOGE to shake up Washington and bring some much-needed Iowa common sense to the capital,” she said.

In her letter, Ernst wrote that with $25 billion of $53 billion in available appropriations already earmarked, it is difficult to believe the same level of oversight will be given to the last-minute expenditures as there likely was for the first two years’ worth.

In addition to her criticisms and demands that the spending be halted, Ernst asked Raimondo to inform her on several related fronts before the day the new Congress is seated next year.

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Ernst is requesting the total number of ongoing negotiations between Commerce and CHIPs Act fund applicants, the duration of planned CHIPs projects and the amount of money spent via the CHIPs Act both prior to and after Trump’s election win.

She will also ask Raimondo how her team is coordinating with the Trump transition on this matter.

Trump has chosen Cantor-Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to succeed Raimondo on Jan. 20.

Fox News Digital reached out to Raimondo on the general subject of her remarks to Politico. A Raimondo representative directed Fox News Digital to a portion of her interview: “You know, there’s a deadline, there’s a clear deadline with a change of administration. So, certainly, a deadline focuses the mind. But this was the plan we were on all along to complete this mission. I don’t worry terribly about any of the CHIPs money being rolled back, as you say. I mean, the Commerce Department is somewhat unique in so far as everything we’ve done and are doing is bipartisan,” Raimondo said.

President Biden’s days in office are coming down to the wire, and amid President-elect Donald Trump’s transition into the Oval Office, the 46th president is reportedly considering pardoning high-profile allies and fellow Democrats who are viewed as Trump’s political foes.

After Trump’s election win over Vice President Harris last month, Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Ed Markey said he expects Trump to act in a “fascistic way” as president and called on Biden to pardon Democrats and the party’s allies who could face prosecution under a second Trump administration.

“I think that, without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful first year at least of his administration toward individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey said during a local radio interview last month.

“If it’s clear by Jan. 19 that that is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people because that’s really what our country is going to need next year.”

MOTHER OF HUNTER BIDEN’S DAUGHTER DEFENDS PARDON, SAYS HE’S ‘TARGETED BECAUSE OF WHO HIS DAD IS’

President Biden (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta/File)

The comments were soon echoed by other Democrats and ​​some legal experts in a bid for Biden to sink any prospect of Trump getting “revenge” against his political enemies.

“Biden should keep going with his pardons: Trump, Jack Smith & team, Mueller & team, and a blanket pardon for all on Trump’s enemies list for any and all political statements before December 25, 2024! Merry Christmas,” John Dean, CNN contributor and former President Nixon’s White House counsel during the Watergate scandal, posted to social media this month. “​​Take the wind out of retribution/revenge!”

HOW BIDEN – AND TRUMP – HELPED MAKE THE PARDON GO HAYWIRE

As Biden wraps up his final days, Fox News Digital compiled a list of prominent Trump antagonists who have been rumored to be among those considered for pardons.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, and Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., are shown during a public committee meeting on Capitol Hill on Dec. 19, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Former Rep. Liz Cheney and Rep. Bennie Thompson 

Cheney, the Republican former Wyoming congresswoman, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, the Jan. 6 House Select Committee chair, were the targets of Trump’s ire during a recent interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”

“Cheney did something that’s inexcusable, along with Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” he said in the interview. “They deleted and destroyed all evidence.”

“And Cheney was behind it, and so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” he continued. “For what they did, honestly, they should go to jail.”

The Jan. 6 committee was founded in July 2021 to investigate the breach of the U.S. Capitol earlier that year by supporters of Trump ahead of President Biden officially taking office on Jan. 20. The Jan. 6 committee’s investigation was carried out when Democrats held control of the House.

BIDEN’S PARDONING OF HUNTER INDICATES HE HAS ‘A LOT MORE TO HIDE’: LARA TRUMP

Cheney slammed Trump’s remarks in a statement this week, saying they were a “​​continuation of his assault on the rule of law,” but she did not address a potential blanket pardon or whether she would accept such an offer.

“There is no conceivably appropriate factual or constitutional basis for what Donald Trump is suggesting – a Justice Department investigation of the work of a congressional committee – and any lawyer who attempts to pursue that course would quickly find themselves engaged in sanctionable conduct,” Cheney said in her statement. 

Thompson’s office also slammed Trump’s comment in a statement provided to Fox Digital this week, arguing that “no election, no conspiracy theory, no pardon, and no threat of vengeful prosecution can rewrite history or wipe away his responsibility for the deadly violence on that horrific day.”

“We stood up to him before, and we will continue to do so,” he added.

Dr. Anthony Fauci (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/File)

Dr. Anthony Fauci

The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, was a keystone of the nation’s pandemic response, including advising then-President Trump in 2020 on how to handle COVID-19 as it swept across communities.

Fauci’s tenure under the first Trump administration, however, devolved with Trump slamming him and fellow pandemic task force adviser Dr. Deborah Birx as “two self-promoters trying to reinvent history to cover for their bad instincts and faulty recommendations.”

FAUCI RIPPED OVER NEW PAPER CRITICIZING TRUMP ON CORONAVIRUS, PROMOTING NATURAL ORIGIN THEORY: ‘EMBARRASSMENT’

Conservatives, including lawmakers such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., slammed Fauci for his promotion of mask mandates, vaccine mandates and strict lockdown orders that upended the day-to-day lives of Americans.

“Dr. Fauci should be voluntarily removed from TV because what he says is such a disservice, and such fearmongering and almost all of what he says isn’t even matched by the science of his own institute,” Paul, who is a doctor, said in 2021 during an appearance on Fox Business.

“It doesn’t obey the science,” he said at the time. “There is no scientific evidence that the lockdowns in Michigan have done anything or in California. In fact, the daily incidents of the disease in the last two months has been about almost one and a half times greater in California than it has been in Florida. The death rate is lower in Florida. So there is no real correlation between economic lockdowns, mask mandates or any of this.”

Trump allies, including tech billionaire Elon Musk and Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, have endorsed calls to prosecute Fauci if evidence is found of any crimes during the pandemic, including the Wuhan lab leak in China.

BIDEN, TRUMP BOTH RIP DOJ AFTER PRESIDENT PARDONS HUNTER

“If there were crimes that he committed, of course I would tell the attorney general to prosecute him, not hold off,” Kennedy said on Fox News last year.

Fauci has denied any wrongdoing amid the pandemic, and he told CNN this year, “I don’t know what one would prosecute me for. … I played a major role in the development of the vaccine that was responsible for the saving of millions of lives. … I’m definitely guilty of that.”

Donald Trump and New York Attorney General Letitia James (ABC News/Screenshot | Brendan McDermid/Pool/Getty Images)

New York’s Letitia James and Alvin Bragg 

New York Attorney General Letitia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have been at the forefront of legal cases aimed at Trump ahead of the 2024 election, frequently landing in the upcoming president’s line of fire for criticism as he battled lawsuits he slammed as “shams.”

James, a former City Council member in New York and public defender, launched her run for New York AG during the 2018 cycle while emphasizing that if she were elected, she would aggressively pursue charges against Trump. 

“What is fueling this campaign, what is fueling my soul right now, is Trump and his abuses, abuses against immigrants, against women, against our environment. We need an attorney general who will stand up to Donald Trump,” James said on the campaign trail in 2018.

NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES SAYS SHE WON’T DROP CIVIL FRAUD CASE AGAINST TRUMP

About three months after taking office, James announced an investigation into the Trump Organization, alleging there was evidence indicating the president and his company had falsely valued assets to obtain loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions. The investigation began after Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, who had previously served federal prison time for violating campaign finance laws, testified before Congress that the Trump Organization exaggerated the value of his assets.

James officially sued Trump, the Trump Organization and its senior leadership for allegedly falsely inflating “his net worth by billions of dollars to induce banks to lend money to the Trump Organization on more favorable terms than would otherwise have been available to the company, to satisfy continuing loan covenants, to induce insurers to provide insurance coverage for higher limits and at lower premiums, and to gain tax benefits, among other things.”

Trump charged that James had launched a “witch hunt” against him after she explicitly campaigned on a platform to prosecute the president. Trump and his family denied any wrongdoing, with the former president saying his assets had been undervalued.

James was also caught on camera appearing gleeful as Donald Trump Jr. took the stand at his father’s civil trial in November, after frequently sitting in the courtroom amid proceedings.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in September last year in the non-jury trial that Trump and his organization had committed fraud while building his real estate business by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth. Trump appealed the ruling in September this year.

James said this week that she will not drop Trump’s civil fraud judgment after his win last month. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital/File)

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg emerged as another Trump political foe, leading the charge in his criminal trial this year after charging Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records after his Manhattan criminal trial in May. Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified the business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case, and he has argued that it was “lawfare” promoted by the Biden administration and Democrats to injure his re-election efforts. 

Sentencing in the case was indefinitely postponed after Trump’s election win, with his legal team calling on the presiding judge to drop the case altogether.

Jack Smith (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

Special counsel Jack Smith, Fulton County DA Fani Willis 

Trump was hit with four separate indictments issued between March and August 2023, including Special Counsel Jack Smith prosecuting Trump in two of the cases: a classified documents case and a election interference case. 

In the classified documents case, the FBI agents seized 33 boxes of documents in August 2022 from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, spurring another legal battle that Trump has called a “scam.” Smith, who Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed to the job, oversaw the case and charged Trump with 40 felony counts, including allegedly violating the Espionage Act, making false statements to investigators and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

PROSECUTORS REQUEST STAY IN TRUMP NY CASE UNTIL 2029 AS DEFENSE PLANS MOTION FOR DISMISSAL ‘ONCE AND FOR ALL’

In the election interference case, which focused on alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (Alyssa Pointer/Pool/Getty Images/File)

Both cases were dropped after the presidential election, but Trump’s repeated criticisms and condemnation against Jack Smith, who he commonly referred to as “deranged,” and other prosecutors have continued.

“These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought. Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” Trump posted on social media after the election. 

In that same social media post, Trump also took issue with Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, ​​who led the prosecution of Trump in connection to a racketeering indictment for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Trump pleaded not guilty in that case and has maintained his innocence.

“They have also used State Prosecutors and District Attorneys, such as Fani Willis and her lover, Nathan Wade (who had absolutely zero experience in cases such as this, but was paid MILLIONS, enough for them to take numerous trips and cruises around the globe!)” Trump posted. “It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” 

Adam Schiff (Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG/File)

Sen. Adam Schiff  

California Sen. Adam Schiff, who won election to the Senate last month after serving in the U.S. House, has been a common target of Trump’s for spearheading the first impeachment trial.

The House impeached Trump in 2019 over allegedly leveraging U.S. military aid to Ukraine for political favors involving investigations of the Biden family. Schiff, who served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “reads like a classic organized crime shakedown,” opening the floodgates of Trump’s criticisms aimed at the Democrat.

TRUMP FIRES BACK AT ‘CORRUPT’ SCHIFF, ‘PHONY’ MAINSTREAM MEDIA DURING FIERY REMARKS ON IMPEACHMENT

The Senate ultimately acquitted Trump in the first impeachment as well as his second impeachment involving allegations he incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump and Schiff have continued trading barbs since the impeachment saga.

“We have two enemies. We have the outside enemy, and then we have the enemy from within. And the enemy from within, in my opinion, is more dangerous than China, Russia and all these countries,” Trump told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” in October.

“But the thing that’s tougher to handle are these lunatics that we have inside, like Adam Schiff – Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff,” Trump added.

As speculation mounts over who Biden could pardon ahead of his White House exit, Schiff has balked at calls for blanket pardons for those viewed as Trump’s political foes.

​​”I don’t think the idea of a blanket pardon of some kind is a good idea. And I would recommend against it,” he told CBS News last week. ​

Gen. Mark Milley (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta/File)

Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Mark Milley

Just days ahead of the election, news broke that the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Gen. Mark Milley, slammed Trump as a “fascist” and “the most dangerous person to this country” in Washington Post editor Bob Woodward’s latest book.

Trump has repeatedly slammed Milley since leaving office, including after the United States’ botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 when he called Milley a “loser who shamed us in Afghanistan and elsewhere!”

RETIRED GEN MILLEY SAYS AMERICA WILL ‘BE OK’ UNDER TRUMP AFTER REPORTEDLY SAYING HE WAS ‘FASCIST TO THE CORE’

After the election, Milley apparently backtracked his characterization of Trump as a “fascist,” saying ​​America will “be OK” under Trump’s second administration.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Alex Wong/Getty Images/Fox News Digital/File)

Hillary Clinton 

Trump minced no words on the 2016 campaign trail that if elected president, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could face jail time, perhaps previewing a Biden pardon for the Democratic stalwart years later.  

It is “awfully good that someone with the temperament of Donald Trump is not in charge of the law in our country,” Clinton said during a presidential debate against Trump.

HILLARY CLINTON’S NEW STATE DEPARTMENT PORTRAIT INSPIRES MOCKERY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: ‘YOU SHOULD BE IN JAIL’

“Because you’d be in jail,” Trump shot back in a mic-drop moment that earned praise from conservatives and condemnation from Democrats.

“Lock her up” became a common chant during Trump’s 2016 rallies.

FBI Director Christopher Wray (Ting Shen/Xinhua via Getty Images/File)

Christopher Wray 

FBI Director Christopher Wray, who Trump appointed during his first administration, is set to be fired or voluntarily resign from the position as Trump tees up his new pick for FBI chief, Kash Patel, and as conservatives slam Wray for “failing” his duties at the FBI.

The FBI director has also repeatedly come under fire from Trump, including during his Sunday interview on NBC for the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in 2022.

GRASSLEY RIPS WRAY’S ‘FAILED’ LEADERSHIP AT FBI WITH 11 PAGES OF EXAMPLES IN BLISTERING ‘NO-CONFIDENCE’ LETTER

“He invaded my home. I’m suing the country over it. He invaded Mar-a-Lago. I’m very unhappy with the things he’s done. And crime is at an all-time high. Migrants are pouring into the country that are from prisons and from mental institutions, as we’ve discussed. I can’t say I’m thrilled,” Trump said during the interview.

The FBI declined to comment.

President Biden (Ken Cedeno/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

Could Biden pardon himself?

Legal experts have grappled for years with whether a president could pardon himself, but no president has yet tested the waters and actually issued a self-pardon.

Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution states that the president has the power to “grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” The Constitution does not stipulate who a president can and can’t pardon, instead granting them power to pardon any federal crime.

In Biden’s case, Trump has repeatedly slammed his Oval Office successor, including in June when he said Biden is a “criminal.”

​”Joe could be a convicted felon with all of the things that he’s done,” Trump said of Biden in June. 

“This man is a criminal. This man – you’re lucky. You’re lucky. I did nothing wrong. We’d have a system that was rigged and disgusting. I did nothing wrong.”

Vice President Harris (AP/Jacquelyn Martin/File)

Vice President Harris, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, President Biden

Trump’s pick for FBI director, Patel, is known as a “deep state” crusader, who detailed in his book, “Government Gangsters,” an alphabetical list of alleged “deep state” members who are either currently or formerly employed in the executive branch.

Among those on the list are Vice President Harris, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Biden.

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Patel has advocated for the firings of “corrupt actors” within the FBI and the federal government overall, “aggressive” congressional oversight over the agency, complete overhauls of special counsels, and moving the FBI out of Washington, D.C. His list of alleged “deep state” actors could indicate which political players could face investigation during a second Trump administration, and if Patel is confirmed by the Senate.

Fox News Digital’s Gabriel Hays, Tyler Olson and Kristen Altus contributed to this report.

Donald Trump is making a deliberate effort to soften his tone.

Or is he?

I’ve given this a lot of thought, having interviewed Trump twice this year, including two weeks before the election. He was focused and substantive, trying to reach a more independent audience, and while he took some campaign-style shots, he was relatively restrained by Trumpian standards.

Now that he’s the de facto president, I saw a similar Trump on display in the “Meet the Press” interview. Kristen Welker’s follow-ups must have annoyed him, because he told her she had asked “nasty” questions.

HOW BIDEN – AND TRUMP – HELPED MAKE THE PARDON GO HAYWIRE

During the campaign, such episodes were overshadowed by Trump’s rock-n-roll rallies, where he’d ramble on about the great Hannibal Lecter or Arnold Palmer’s genitalia. But his declaration on NBC that he also wants to represent those who didn’t vote for him is a long way from his 2017 “American carnage” inaugural address.

And yet, the president-elect has also mastered the art of saying things that can be interpreted two ways, or sending not-so-coded messages.

The Washington Post editorial board, not a big fan, says Trump “tried to sound a conciliatory tone” with Welker, backed by substance.

President-elect Trump appears to be making a concerted, deliberate effort to mellow out his tone and rhetoric. (Screenshot/NBC)

Trump declared he wouldn’t oust Fed chief Jerome Powell, and wants to work with Democrats to protect the Dreamers. Trump said he “would not restrict the national availability of abortion medication, and that the United States will ‘absolutely’ remain in NATO, as long as other member states spend what they have pledged on defense.” 

And why shouldn’t he appear more reasonable? He’s got the job he believes was unfairly taken from him. He can’t run again. He knows his first term was savaged by the left-leaning media establishment. If he can have a more successful second term – after turning on some top aides in the last go-round – he could modify history’s verdict.

And that brings us to the question of retribution. He said on NBC that the best retribution is success, the same line he used with me. On “Meet the Press” he even retracted a campaign declaration that he would name a special prosecutor to go after Joe Biden. 

BIDEN, TRUMP BOTH RIP DOJ AFTER PRESIDENT PARDONS HUNTER

When Welker asked whether he’d order the Justice Department, which he sees as having persecuted him, to investigate Biden and his administration, Trump gave a response that I doubt he would have offered in the first term.

No, he said, that would be up to his attorney general and FBI director, which will definitely be Pam Bondi and probably Kash Patel. Would he tell them to do it? Nope.

It’s called distancing.

Now one could argue that he was in effect suggesting they do it by announcing it on national television. But I’m sure they knew his views anyway. 

Trump’s one misstep on NBC was lashing out at members of the House Jan. 6 Committee. He said Liz Cheney “did something that’s inexcusable, along with [Bennie] Thompson and people on the Un-Select Committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps,” Trump told moderator Kristen Welker, arguing without proof that they “deleted and destroyed” testimony. “Honestly, they should go to jail.”

So that was a gift to his critics, enabling most journalists to lead with him wanting the lawmakers behind bars. By the way, their investigation and hearings are protected by the Speech and Debate clause, which gives the members immunity.

This mellowed-out “Trump 2.0” reared his head during a Meet the Press interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker. (Screenshot/NBC)

Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told CNN that his boss’ words had been taken “out of context,” that he “wants everyone who he puts into key positions of leadership … to apply the law equally to everybody,” mentioning Bondi and Patel.

In a similar vein, Trump has mainly avoided attacks on individual journalists, this after saying he would reach out to even hostile outlets. But he made an exception and mocked Maggie Haberman of the New York Times when she co-authored a couple of stories he didn’t like.

So will we be getting Trump 2.0, or Trump 1.0 with plenty of fancy packaging?

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Veteran Trump watchers know that he can slip off the high road when he gets angry, that it’s not just about mass deportations, slashing inflation and drill, baby, drill. 

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But I still believe we’re seeing a more disciplined, restrained and moderate Trump so far. He campaigned on shaking things up, so there are plenty of clashes to unfold. What’s fascinating is that he’s already essentially running the country while Biden has faded and, since the pardon fiasco, is refusing to talk to the press.